The conspiracy theories about election denial are spreading on X, now from the left.

Within minutes of Donald Trump being announced the winner of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, conspiracy theories began flooding Elon Musk's platform X. According to data from the research firm PeakMetrics, the number of posts questioning the election results and demanding a recount skyrocketed on Wednesday morning. By noon, the volume of posts on the platform peaked at 94,000 per hour. Many of these posts gained significant visibility, amassing over a million views, according to an analysis by WIRED.

One notable comment came from John Pavlovitz, who asked, “How is it possible that we had record turnout and twenty million fewer votes were cast nationwide?” His post received 5.3 million views. Gordon Crovitz, CEO of NewsGuard, reported that the phrase “Trump cheat” trended that morning, with 92,100 mentions since midnight.

Although the details of these conspiracy theories are still being shaped by their promoters, Harris's supporters used the loss of their candidate as a pretext to spread unfounded misinformation about a possible election theft. Unlike the pro-Trump election denial movement that emerged after the 2020 elections, this time it remained virtually silent. Nina Jankowicz, former disinformation czar for the Biden administration and current CEO of the American Sunlight Project, warned about the distrust that such allegations can foster in the democratic infrastructure.

Posts about the recount included hashtags like #donotconcedekamala and expressions insinuating that “something is off.” Notably, some claimed that 20 million votes were missing. However, although Associated Press counts showed 16 million fewer votes than in 2020, the reason was simple: votes were still being tallied.

David Becker, executive director of the Centre for Election Innovation and Research, emphasized in his post that “election denial is antidemocratic, regardless of its source,” and highlighted that votes were still being counted in several states, including millions in California. By 2 a.m., theories began to gain traction, coinciding with Trump's declaration as the winner, continuing the activity as people settled in for the night.

In contrast to the 2020 movement, which fed off Trump's refusal to accept the results, these new theories did not have the candidate's backing. Harris urged her supporters to accept the results and committed to a “peaceful transition of power.”

The phenomenon of anti-Trump conspiracy theories, dubbed BlueAnon, gained relevance after the assassination attempt on Trump in July. Mike Rothschild, an author studying these theories, noted that any improbable event attracts speculation about what “really” happened. In the recent case, both the narrative of lost votes and implications of Russian threats in Harris's campaign were debunked.

Despite the absence of relevant conspiracy theories, some election denial leaders couldn't resist. Dinesh D’Souza, known for his discredited book on the 2020 election fraud, used the narrative of missing votes to bolster his claims. He stated on X that “Kamala received 60 million votes in 2024,” asking where the 20 million missing Democratic voters from 2020 were. Similarly, right-wing YouTuber Benny Johnson made similar statements.

On Telegram channels and WhatsApp groups dedicated to spreading election conspiracy theories, some leaders celebrated their involvement in allegedly preventing an election theft. Douglas Frank, a former math professor in Ohio, reflected on his work saying, “It's hard to take credit; I just did my part, and I think of my friends who didn’t come home. The war is far from over; we still face tough days ahead. I'll see you on the battlefield.”